A fire brigade spokesman said: “The smoke alarm alerted the 62-year-old female downstairs, who went upstairs and got her mother from the bedroom next to where the fire was situated on the first floor.

“They were both self-rescued prior to our arrival. There was a lot of damage because the fire was in the loft and we had to cut through the ceiling to get to the fire, which had spread quite extensively.

“Had the smoke alarm not been working and raised the alarm as quickly as it did, I am pretty sure there would have been a serious injury or even a fatality.”

The two women were taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital after inhaling smoke. The blaze is thought to have been caused by an electrical fault. Gas engineers also attended to make sure there were no gas leaks.